LONDON CHEESECAKE

My two favorite cheesecakes are Lindy's and Junior's.  Both are traditional New York-style cheesecakes, firm, smooth and creamy.  The answer across the pond to our New York-style cheesecake is London cheesecake.  No cornstarch or flour is added to firm up the cake and no heavy cream or sour cream is added to the batter for extra richness.  Instead, eggs and egg yolks do the job, three of each, producing a firm and rich cheesecake.  A sour cream topping is added at the end of the baking time for extra flavor and richness. 


Instead of using a mixer, as Nigella  did, I opted to use my Cuisinart to mix the cheesecake batter, but I followed her recipe exactly.


We liked this cheesecake a lot.  It has a nice firmness and it’s rich, smooth and creamy,  though not quite as firm, smooth and creamy as my two faves.   I would definitely make it again, especially if I had an abundance of eggs to use up.

London Cheesecake Adapted from Nigella Lawson Rating:  9.5 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

Crust:  1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (5 oz.) graham cracker crumbs 6 Tbsp. unsalted  butter, melted or very soft In medium bowl, or work bowl of food processor, add butter to crumbs and mix or process till well combined.  Butter an 8” springform pan.  Press crumbs in with your hands or the back of a spoon.  Put the pan in the fridge to set, and heat oven to 350F (325F  for dark or coated pans). Filling:  20 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese or Neufchatel, room temperature 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar 3 large eggs, room temperature 3 large egg yolks, room temperature 1-1/2 Tablespoons vanilla extract (I used my homemade vanilla) 1-1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice In work bowl of a food processor, combine cheese and sugar.  Pulse several times, till ingredients are well combined and smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, processing briefly after each till yellow disappears.  Repeat with yolks.  Add flavorings and pulse till combined.  Scrape  sides and bottom and pulse one more time to be sure all ingredients are mixed. Put the kettle on, or heat up a pot of water.  Line the outside of  the chilled springform pan with foil so that it covers the bottom and sides in one large piece, and then do the same again and put it inside a roasting pan.  This will protect the cheesecake from the water as it is cooked in its water bath.    Pour filling into chilled base, and then pour hot water into roasting pan around the cheesecake.  It should come about halfway up or less.  Don’t overfill, as it will be difficult to lift up the pan.  Put the pan into the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes.  It should feel set, but not rigidly so.  You just need to feel confident that when you pour the sour cream over, it will sit on the surface and not  sink in. Topping:  3/4 cup sour cream 1 Tbsp.sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla Whisk together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla.  Remove cheesecake from oven and pour sour cream topping over the cheesecake.  Put it back in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Take roasting pan out of oven, remove springform pan, unwrap foil and stand pan on a rack to cool.  When completely cool, place in fridge for 1 hour uncovered.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight for best flavor.  Slice with a knife that’s been dipped in hot water first.  Serve as is, drizzled with chocolate or caramel sauce, or sprinkled with chocolate shavings.  Serves 8-10